Beauran Book 1 ~ The Orphan Pup {Wolf Story}

[.oOFrøstBittenOo.]

hfwgbdxutayiksUXYUSGFNXNLSAYGDZYUyusuynxdoaUYGNYFYLGFTNYUFhdaksfgbvas Dudddeee!!!!!!@! Write more!!!

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OK! I'm so glad you like it!

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Yippee! Another Chapter. I hope you guys are enjoying it.

Reunited

For many minutes he just lay there, staring at the rock in front of his nose. The cold of the floor warmed with his body heat, but this didn’t make him any more comfortable. For a moment he considered just lying there in the dark forever, when their was a sound from deep inside the cave.
“Moon-Gaze? Is that you?” Gaze leapt up off the ground and onto his feet, his neck aching as he looked about. A female voice had come from the darkness.
“Who’s that?” he asked what was probably a wall. Then a wolf’s face emerged from the dark, bright white and very sick looking, covered in blood. Then he realised.
“River Tune!” he cried. He wagged his tail and ran to her. Her dark, sad eyes lit up as he suddenly recognised her, and her tail flew around as Gaze nuzzled the side of her neck. She licked his cheek.
“Oh Gaze.” She said. “Why are you in here too?” she asked. He thought he’d better answer.
“We came to find you, but Malvado recognised me and Gudinna.” He whined.
“She – she’s here?” she asked.
“Yeah, everyone’s here.” He replied. “But only five of us are here in these caves.” Her eyes sank again.
“Gaze, who’s here? In the caves?” she asked. His heart fell. It was her family, here in the cave. How could he tell her? She’d be even more heart-broken than before. But he had to tell her.
“I’m sorry Tune. Sapphira, Aldoro, Arick and Gudinna.” He lowered his head and stared at the cave ground. For a moment she didn’t speak, and he lifted his head back up to see her eyes full of glistening tears. He leant forward and rubbed his head on her shoulder. She put hers on his back, and she just stood there, and he felt her heart beat in her chest.
“Tune, the others might be coming though.” He said after a moment. They both lifted their heads. “We sounded an alarm, two barks and a howl.”
“But what if they are caught too?” she whined. Gaze thought about that for a second. What if she was right, and they did get captured by the enemy. He tried to shake the thought from his mind. “Don’t worry about it. Are you OK?”
“Oh Gaze, I’m so hungry.” She whined again. “I haven’t had anything to eat.”
“They might give us some food.” Gaze replied. “They’d have to, otherwise they’d never get an answer from you,”
“How’d you know they’d been questioning me?” Tune suddenly asked. “How’d you know I was even here? What’s been happening? Gaze?” she stared at him very urgently. Gaze was a little surprised, but he answered.
“Well, I dreamt about you. Was it all true? Did Malvado bite you?” without waited for an answer, he looked down at her foot. It was covered in blood, and it had deep bite-marks in it.
It was all true.
“Yes.” Said Tune. She looked at the ground. “I hate him! He’s hurt me terribly, and Armik has bitten me too. He tortured me even more than Malvado, and I was so close to telling him,”
“Tune, what did they want to know?” Gaze asked before she could finish her sentence. She suddenly looked up with her big, bright eyes. He stared into them. She didn’t want to answer. But Gaze just kept looking, forcing her to answer. She blinked and looked away, a tear falling from her eye onto the floor.
“I found it.” She sobbed. “I found it.” She suddenly started to cry, and sobbing, she ran from Gaze into the darkness of the cave. He stared after, and all he could hear was her weeping, echoing around the cave. After a moment of just standing there, he trotted off into the cave, following her cries.
After a moment he found her, lying on the floor of the cave, tears on the sides of her face. He went up and nudged her, and she looked up.
“Tune, what did you find?” he asked. She swallowed hard, then slowly got to her feet. She groaned with pain of hunger and the fact she had no energy left.
“I found the Cave of Wisdom.” She whispered.
“The what?” Gaze asked, confused.
“It might not sound fabulous,” she said, “But it’s where the Elder was imprisoned for his whole life. In a cave, in the darkness. There she wrote all her wisdom down on the walls with symbols, all of it, and if any wolf, powerful or not, gets their paws on it, they’ll wipe out entire packs. Poderos wants it, to make his Shadow Pack the largest, most powerful place in the whole world. I found it when I was little, when I got lost on a trip one day.” She looked at the ground. Gaze pitied her.
“Why is that so bad?” he asked.
“I found it Gaze!” she suddenly cried. “I found the very thing wolves have been looking for, for centuries! Years! And because I’m the only one in living memory to see it, they want me to tell.” She started to sob again, and Gaze leant down and nuzzled her side. She pushed her head up against him. He didn’t really understand the sadness, but he didn’t like to see her cry. She was so upset.

* * *
A few very long hours later, Gaze and Tune had calmed down. They sat by the door, where a tiny bit of light peeped in, and talked. Gaze was trying to block out the scared feeling, he hated being locked away. And he felt terrible too. He thought about poor Sapphira and Gudinna, and Arick and Aldoro. They were all separated, with no one to speak to in the dark, lonely caves. And the walls were too thick to scratch them and howl through them to the others.
All the same, the two spoke.
“Have you had anything, anything, to eat while you’ve been here?” Gaze asked, to make conversation.
“A rabbit’s leg. That’s it. I found a spring at the back of the cave though, so I’m not thirsty. But my stomach in just constantly growling at me.” She replied.
“Maybe they’ll bring food in soon.” Gaze said thoughtfully. He tried to sound happy, but being trapped in a cave, not knowing when you’d be free, is not a happy thought.
“Pfft.” Said Tune. She stood up, turned around three times, and lay down on the floor. Gaze just let his legs go out the front of him.
Suddenly there was a sound from over-head. It squeaked, a high-pitched, tiny squeak. Gaze immediately pricked up his ears and looked up at the ceiling. And there, perching on a rock with its feet, was a tiny bat. It turned its little head and looked at them with big, shining eyes. It twitched its ears and fluttered its wings, before hopping down again. It swooped clumsily over their heads.
“Cute.” Said Gaze, as he looked at it.
“My gosh it’s a bat!” Tune cried. She leapt up from the ground and stared at the bat. Gaze was alarmed at how excited she was to see it. He got up too.
“What’s so good about it?” Gaze asked.
“Bats don’t live down here! We have to follow it to see where it got out!” and with that, she took off after the little fuzzy creature. They chased it down the cave chamber, through the darkness, over the rocks.
As they were losing sight of it, the little bat suddenly swerved sideways. It fluttered down and it went through the wall. Gaze ran to the place it disappeared, and to his delight, he found something.
A hole! I nice-sized hole in the wall, not too far up. He looked through a little further and noticed it went straight into the darkness of the next cave. He listened to the echo of the bat’s squeaking, and the cave sounded very big. Maybe it was Arick’s cave!
Suddenly he felt himself being pushed aside. Tune came up next to him and put her front legs on the edge of the hole. She peered in and looked around. He face completely lit up. With a heave of breath, she let out a big bark. It echoed throughout the cave. Nothing replied. She did it again.
From far down the cave, probably near the door, a loud, low bark shouted back to them. It boomed through their hole and Gaze felt his tail wagging. Arick was in there!
“Gaze, lift me up!” Tune said eagerly. Gaze went up to her and using all his might he shoved her hind. She put her legs on the wall under the hole and pushed herself up. When her legs were a bit up, she put out her front and leapt to the ground on the other side.
Now how would he get through? Her put his front legs up near the hole and struggled with his hind. He got them on the wall and his claws scratched the rock as he pushed. Then, with one big push, he jumped down and landed smoothly on the ground. When he was on all fours properly, he looked about for Tune. He found her already making her way down the cave. He trotted after her briskly.
Soon the cave was a little lighter. The darkness swallowed everything behind them as Gaze looked over his shoulder.
All of a sudden, a big shape leapt onto their path, blocking it from them. AS Gaze looked closer. It growled at them.
“Hello?” said Tune timidly. As the wolf came closer and realised who it was, it lit up in joy. Arick bounded onto his sister with a mighty leap, knocking her to the floor. “Arick?” she said slowly.
“River-Tune! Oh, I’ve missed you!” he licked her face. Tune kicked and he got off her. She stood up and shook herself of the dust from the cave. She looked up at her brother.
“How’d you pups get in here?” he asked.
“There’s a hole in the wall at the back. We saw a bat fly in.” Tune replied. They were about to go and lie down when their was a sound from the door. They all looked quickly over at it in alarm.
The boulder of the door was slowly sliding. Dust fell from the ceiling. “Pups get out!” Arick barked at them. Without hesitation, Gaze nudged Tune as he took off towards the back. She yelped and bounded ahead. “Don’t let them see you!” they heard Arick cry, as a sudden beam of light shone in.
In a flash they were at the back near the hole. Gaze didn’t want to wait around. He slowly backed up, until his hind touched the wall. Then, with a huge bound, he leapt forward. He pushed down with his back legs and jumped clean through the hole. With a thud he landed on the other side. He waited for Tune and she jumped through within a second, collapsing on the rock floor beside him.
“Are you OK?” Gaze asked, helping her up. She laughed weakly.
“Yeah,” she replied. “Just, no energy left.” Right before they were about to head away, there was a painful yelp from the other cave. Growling followed.
“Arick!” Tune yelped. With her tail between her legs she put her front paws on the wall and peered through the hole. She whimpered. “They’re hurting him!”
“Tune!” said Gaze. He grabbed her tail and she jumped back down. “Don’t. They’ll end up hurting him more if you go through.” She whimpered and looked up at the hole. Tune sighed. “Come on.” She turned to him and they started walking back. Growls, shouts, yelps and snarls echoed about, and all the time Tune softly whimpered. Gaze pitied her, as it was her own brother. Plus her mother, father and aunt were probably hurt too.
The sight of the still shut cave door made Gaze feel even more imprisoned. And the thought of other wolves, either here or in Beauran, were happily playing, leaping, barking in their homes and outside.
In freedom.
Gaze and Tune lay down by a boulder on the cold rock floor. He needed rest, sleep. He looked at Tune and saw her shivering. With a quick shuffle he lay closer beside her and but his head on her back. Soon she stopped shaking, and slowly, very slowly, the two fell quietly asleep.

[.oOFrøstBittenOo.]

DD::::::DDD::;: NUUuuuuuu

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Noooo indeed! It's downhill for while from here......

[Corviidae_]

Great story and I can't wait for more!

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Aw thanks! I'm SO SO close to finishing the next chapter.

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Woohoo! I've done it! Another chapter.
I really need to get this done PRONTO. My friend from far away is coming over, and I want it to be finished for her to read. She comes over in the school holidays, which is in about... HOLY MOLY!!! IT'S IN A WEEK!!!! Oh well.
This chapter's a bit longer.

Attempted Escape

A tiny stripe of dim morning sun peeped in from a crack beside the door. In lit a patch on the floor right next to Gaze, and he awoke sleepily from nothing in particular. He raised his head and yawned before looking beside him. Tune was still fast asleep. Her chest rose and fell slowly as she slept on.
With another quick yawn, Gaze heaved himself up onto his tired feet. Looking at the door of the cave his stomach sank. They were still trapped. Locked away like prisoners in a cell with nothing to eat, and nothing to do. He felt like he was shut from the outside world, never to return.
Then it hit him. What if they never did return? What if they never came back to their pack-land, to see their family? Would they starve in here?
Gaze shivered. Not with cold, but with anxiety and fear. He sat back down and looked at Tune, waiting for her to wake for someone to talk to. But she showed no signs of waking any time soon, so he got back up and decided to do something.
A drink of water would do.
With a twitch of his tail, Gaze set off to the back of the cave. Into the darkness he went, where there was literally no light. Nothing showed him the way except for the smell around him and his listening skills.
As he passed the hole in the wall, he hesitated, wondering if he should go and see if Arick was all right. But no. He needed water. He shook his head and kept walking, until he heard the tiniest, slightest noise of trickling water.
Gaze sniffed the ground for the fresh, sweet smell. Then he found it. A little pool of water right by the wall. Without bothering to check it, he plunged his muzzle into the water and gulped it down.
Fresh, cool water flowed down his throat and moistened his mouth. He suddenly felt a lot more lively as he took his muzzle out and licked his lips. With his tail held upright, he trotted off back where he came from.
The hole. It was right there. He needed to. He needed to see if Arick was OK. No, he’d get into trouble. But Arick…
Gaze backed and ran at the wall. With a bound he leapt through the hole and landed on the other side. His shoulder hit the ground as he lost his balance. But he was OK. He stood and shook his body of the dust. When he was completely on all four feet, he started walking to the front of the cave, ever so nervous of what he might find.
He rounded a turn and saw a little streak of light shining in from a crack. He looked down and saw a puddle of light on what looked like a furry wolf’s body.
No! Gaze rushed to the wolf on the floor. It was in a little pool of blood. Gaze was just about to run away to Tune, when he noticed something.
The wolf was not brown like Arick, but white. A blue stripe went from his forehead to the tip of his tail. It was the guard that dragged Gaze! It wasn’t Arick! He looked around some more and found another heap of fur, but this time it wasn’t lying there covered it blood. His chest was rising and falling slowly in slumber. Gaze trotted up and nudged the sleeping wolf.
This one was brown. With green and blue on his legs and tail like his mother, colouring like father. He lifted his head and stared at Gaze with his green eyes.
“M - Moon-Gaze? Is that you?” he mumbled. Arick sat up and yawned widely. He smiled, showing white, shining teeth against the black of the cave.
“Are you OK?” Gaze asked him.
“Yes pup.” He replied. He looked over at the guard’s body and frowned. “Did I do that?” he said. He had clearly been knocked out that night. Gaze nodded in answer and Arick nodded with a satisfied expression on his blood-covered face. He heaved himself off the ground and shook, spraying dust into Gaze’s eyes.
When he had blinked it out, light flooded into them. Where was that coming from? He squinted before moving aside. He looked over at the door and saw that the crack he had seen before was bigger than he thought. The door was slightly open!
“Arick!” he heard himself cry. He turned and saw that Arick was drinking from a small spring in the wall. He lifted his head.
“Pup?” he asked questioningly.
“Look at the door!” Gaze yelped finding himself bouncing around. When Arick looked over at it, his face completely lit up.
“We can get out!” he said. “But…. How will we go unnoticed?” Gaze hadn’t thought of that. But, as long as they could get out, it was one step.
“Hey, I’ll get Tune.” Said Arick. And before Gaze could suggest himself going, he had taken off down into the darkness.
He sat down and waited for Arick. But what about the others? They needed to come too… Nervousness bounded into him and he couldn’t think of anything else. What if they could only save themselves, and Gudinna, Sapphira and Aldoro would stay here forever? If they were caught and forced back in, with heavier guards? Then they would never get out.
But this was their only chance. The only chance they would get to escape. Gaze would just have to go along and trust in their luck.
Suddenly their was the clicking sound of claws on stone as Arick came into the light and sat next to Gaze. Following behind and Tune, and she sat down too, panting.
“Gaze, I was worried sick!” she said when she caught her breath. “You just vanished!” Gaze raised his brow.
“I’m sorry, but I didn’t want to wake you.” He replied. She grumbled in answer.
“Right you two.” Arick suddenly said. They turned to him. “We need to get this door open, and when we’re out, if we’re out, we should be able to open the other caves from the outside. Let’s do this.” They all leapt up and followed Arick to the door.
He pushed his muzzle through the crack and looked outside. He them pulled it back in and turned to the pups.
“No guards out yet!” he said happily. “Now, how will we open it?”
“I know!” Tune said suddenly. “We’ll try and open it a little bit more, and I can squeeze through because I’m the smallest! Then I’ll try to push it from the outside.”
“OK then.” Replied Arick. He stuck his head through and pushed to the side. He used all his chest muscles, and his back legs bent down and pushed. The enormous boulder scraped along the floor, and little rocks fell from the roof.
Soon there was a larger crack in the door. Arick relaxed himself and stepped out. His shoulder were still too wide for him to go through. When he stepped away from the door, Tune rushed forward and pushed past him. With a little squeeze she pulled herself through the crack, and tumbled onto the floor on the other side.
“I did it!” she cried.
“Hey, maybe you could get through too?” Arick said to Gaze. Maybe he could. He went over to the crack and stuck his front through. His hips got a bit stuck. He strained as he pulled with all his might, until suddenly he felt a big shove up his hind. He tumbled forward and landed on the floor. Tune giggled as he got up.
“Now we need to push.” She said. Gaze got up on his back legs and placed his front on the side on the boulder. Tune did the same next to him.
“One,” he said
“Two,” replied Tune.
“Three!” he pushed the muscles in his back legs, using his shoulder muscles to grab the rock. He closed his eyes, and suddenly he stepped forward. The rock slid. He released and pushed even harder. Tune did the same and the rock slid a bit more.
Abruptly there was a brush of fur against his side and he relaxed his muscles and jumped down. Arick stood next to him, a smile on his furry face.
“We did it!” he cried. He bent forward and nuzzled them both. Tune tail wagged like mad. “Right, we need to get the others. You two, work together. I’ll do it by myself.” Gaze and Tune nodded, and they both ran slightly upwards through the cave. Light shone in from above. Gaze wondered whether Poderos was in there yet.
They came to another boulder blocking a cave entrance. Without hesitation, they both got up on the boulder and pushed with all their strength. Gaze’s back legs pushed and pushed until suddenly the boulder jerked. It wobbled as the side hit a little stone. Tune went forward and gave it a nudge with her neck, and the big rock rolled. They stood back and it rolled until it got caught on some rocks. Gaze looked up in case someone had wondered what the rumbling was, but nothing stirred.
The two looked into the cave and squinted in the darkness. Suddenly Tune yelped and ran forward, and Gaze saw a fluffy lump lying on the ground. It was white and aqua-blue, with an emerald around the neck.
“Mother?” Tune said as she nudged Sapphira. She kicked her leg and lifted her head quickly.
“T, Tune?” she whined? All of a sudden she leapt onto her feet and stared at the two pups with her eyes enormous. “Oh my gosh Tune!” she cried. She ran forward and nuzzled her delighted daughter, then Gaze.
“Oh, it feels like so much more than a night since I’ve seen you Gaze! And River-Tune! I can’t believe you’re OK!” she said.
“Arick is out too.” Tune said.
“Oh, he’s OK as well?” Sapphira asked. Gaze nodded and she smiled some more. “Let’s go!” she dashed out the door and the others followed her. They came out into the light and looked down the tunnel to see Arick approaching them. Following behind was…
“Aldoro!” Sapphira cried. She ran over to them and Aldoro smiled as they greeted.
“Oh, I missed you. I was so worried!” she babbled.
“Me too.” He replied. He licked her head, when suddenly he saw Tune. “River-Tune!” He ran to her and she nuzzled him. He licked her head too. Gaze looked over at Sapphira and Arick greeting each other. It was as though everyone hadn’t seen each other in years. Then he remembered.
“Gudinna!” he yelped. Everyone broke from each other a looked at Gaze. “She’s still in a cave!” Aldoro looked at Sapphira quickly, before they all dashed up the tunnel.
They ran past The two open caves until they came to another, sealed up. Aldoro and Arick approached it and put up their front legs. With two strong, powerful wolves, it was very easy for them. The boulder slid aside and Sapphira slipped in. The pack anxiously waited, when suddenly Sapphira came back out. That was very quick. Behind her, Gudinna slowly limped out.
She gasped at the sight of all the wolves waiting for her. Sapphira smiled as she turned to face her.
“You’re all OK!” she said, and a smile lit up her face. Gaze looked down at her paw lifted off the ground, and saw it was covered in blood. He looked at her shoulder, and it had three, deep, bleeding claw-marks in it. Her ear was chipped and bleeding too.
“Well, we should get out of here before the Alpha comes out of his chamber. Pack, follow me!” said Aldoro. He led the way back up the tunnel.
They all emerged into the light of the Alpha’s cave. It as not bright, but it was a lot lighter than the dark, gloomy caves. As they crossed the room, there was suddenly a small bark from somewhere in the corner.
“Who’s there?” Aldoro barked back. They all listened.
“Come over here.” Whispered the voice. It sounded like a male. They cautiously went closer to the sound, and noticed another tunnel in the wall. Aldoro was approaching the entrance of the cave, when a wolf walked out.
It was Copaci! He walked up to Aldoro and Aldoro cocked his head. “Why are you here?” he asked.
“The warning howl! We heard it.” Copaci replied.
“We?” asked Sapphira.
“Yes, my pack and I. We are all here, and we blocked the exit of the Alpha’s cave den! It’s down there. We also found a room at the end of the tunnel where all the guards sleep, and we blocked that too.” He smiled.
“Wow! No wonder no one was here this morning.” Replied Aldoro.
“We’d better go now.” Said Sapphira. Aldoro turned to her and nodded.
“Grab your pack.” Arick said to Copaci. He frowned at being ordered by his own guard, but went down the tunnel all the same. As Gaze, Tune, Sapphira, Aldoro, Gudinna and Arick got to the door, there was suddenly movement from through it.
The pack stopped suddenly and Aldoro peered into the darkness. Nothing came out, so he crept through. The others followed. They walked into the entrance cave and Gaze saw the enormous bear-skin rug and all the other skins on the walls. Light flooded in from the other door across the room.
As they stepped onto the rug, there was a rumbling sound from the other door. Gudinna gasped and Gaze looked over at it. As big boulder was being pushed into place. Aldoro shouted out, but the cave was already blocked. What had happened?
Sapphira let out a whimper, just as Copaci came bounding into the room. Following close behind was Scar, Cazadora, Dahlia, Kulma and Bjorna. Copaci had a look of worry on his face as he approached the others. Aldoro’s eyes spun around the room as he looked for something that might lead to clues.
“Aldoro, what happened?” asked Copaci. “I heard a whimper and a rumble and…” before he could finish his sentence, his eyes had drifted over to the sealed door.
“Someone shut the door. We’ve no way out if we don’t want to get spotted.” Replied Aldoro. Copaci’s brow crinkled in thought.
“Hmm.” He said. Gaze lifted his nose and sniffed the air. Dust entered his nostrils, and a faint smell of wolves. Not the others around him, something different….
“Someone’s watching us!” he yelped before he could stop himself. 11 eyes stared at him through the dim light. Aldoro lifted his nose as well and sniffed. A second later his eyes widened and his ears flew back.
“Pack, form a circle, everyone face the outside! We are not alone!” As quick as that the group spread then formed a tight circle, hinds touching, watching out. Then, out of the dark, shone a pair of bright, red eyes.
“Very clever. Very clever.” Purred the cool voice. Gaze’s spine shivered with the familiarity of it. It was sleek and evil and cold. As he peered into the dark around the walls, a muzzle and a face appeared into the dim light.
Armik.
He smiled an evil smile. Beside him, Aldoro let out a growl. Fierce and nasty, filled with hatred for this wolf. How did he know him?
“Armik.” He growled. Armik sniffed and lifted his head. Aldoro did too, not losing the gaze of his eyes, in case he might make a move.
“Clever wolves, escaping from our prison.” He snarled. “Come to save your little daughter, Aldoro?” Aldoro growled. From the other side of the circle Tune whimpered. “Shut it, pup!” Armik barked.
“You killed my mother!” Aldoro growled. There was a sudden silence in the cave. Armik killed his mother?
Suddenly the feeling of being watched crept up on Gaze even more in the quiet. He glanced around the cave, seeing nothing but dark around the edges.
“Miss you mother, do you?” purred Armik evilly. “Attack.” He whispered. From all around the cave bright eyes appeared out of the gloom. Yellow, green, blue, red, black, white… it was eerie how many wolves were hiding. The pack huddled tighter together as the army of wolves came closer and closer. Slowly, slowly.
Gaze felt Gudinna tremble on the other side of him. Her breathing was fast. He glanced at Aldoro and saw his eyes were full of fear, as well as determination. He lowered his head and leant forward. Armik backed into the shadows again, past the wolves of his army. He laughed wickedly and only his eyes shone from the dark as his body disappeared.
Around them, the wolves were only a few paces away when they stopped. Heads down, a few of them growled, some snarled. Aldoro growled back, so did Copaci, Arick and Cazadora. The room was completely frozen. No sound. Beside Gaze, Gudinna stepped back.
That’s when they really attacked. The army of Shadow wolves leapt forwards onto them. Gaze yelped and leapt back, trying to run. He had only gone a few paces when a heavy blow knocked him to the ground. His shoulder smashed against the rock and he yelped in pain. He opened his eyes and saw a wolf on top of him, pinning him to the ground. He was about to bite Gaze when he was suddenly thrown off him.
Aldoro snarled at the wolf he had just attacked. Without even looking at Gaze he ran forward to attack. Gaze didn’t glance back as he leapt onto his feet and took for the door. He saw Tune and Bjorna running for it as well, when suddenly a voice barked out.
“The pups! Get the pups!” Fear overwhelmed Gaze and he tried to run, but he was knocked off his feet before he had any time to think. But before the wolf could pin him however, he leapt back up and bit into his leg. The wolf yelped in pain, then snarled as Gaze smirked cheekily. When his opponent made a leap for him, Gaze leapt out of the way and bit his tail, before making a run for it.
He ran forward, faster and faster until he leapt through the door and tumbled head over heels into the next room. As he looked up he saw Tune rushing towards him, with Bjorna waiting a little behind. She nudged him hard and he got up.
“Gaze! Run!” he glanced back through to the entrance cave and heard all the noise from inside. Guilt filled his stomach. He wanted to help his pack, help them fight, but it would mean more grief. He turned back to the girls and ran after them. They bolted away, but before they could get back into the Under Caves, they heard a growling voice from the door.
Without thinking, they all ran behind the Alpha’s boulder and crouched down in it’s shadow. As Gaze pulled his tail behind the rock, he heard a wolf bound into the room. His claws scratched on the floor, and his snarl was scary.
“Those pups escaped!” he growled. Gaze’s heart beat fast in his chest as the wolf crossed the room, muttering under his breath. Cursing. He felt Bjorna shuffle up closer to him, and they huddled there whilst listening to the horrific sounds of the battle through the door.
There suddenly a sound of a thump and a an enormous yelp from the next room. Tune buried her face in Bjorna’s fur and Gaze shut his eyes. It was awful, especially when they had no idea who was hurt and who wasn’t.
Just as Gaze was about to creep out, fight the battle, there was an enormous, crashing clunk from somewhere near the wall. Or in it. They heard a few rocks smashing and rolling, before they heard wolves pile out.
Many, many claws against stone, snarls, howls and barks. The sounds filled their ears. They got louder and louder until the noise was echoing around the cave. Tune gasped as the racket of Shadow wolves moved in from the chamber.
It was Poderos and his female and his guards. They had escaped! But how? Maybe they found a little escape exit or something. However they did it, they were out. And now the Beaurans were outnumbered by Shadows.
Gaze wriggled back and Bjorna pushed next to him as they buried themselves in the shadow of the boulder, huddled close together. They listened to the footsteps of all those wolves, clambering towards the door.
As the noise of walking got smaller and the noise of battle got stronger, the stress was even higher. Just as Gaze was about to lead the girls to escape, there was another sound.
Sniff. Sniff. He scuttled back behind the rock. There were footsteps, paws coming closer and closer. Bjorna shrunk and Gaze tried to lean back.
There was silence. No, it was imaginary. Too much going on. When he got up and put his paw forward, a wolf leapt in front of him, casting a shadow over the three pups.
“And here they are.” Said Armik.

[Kodabomb]

Yep, another chapter.
It's a bit short though, but it has all the important bits. And a sad twist at the end.

Loss

Gaze’s shoulder filled with immense pain as it struck the stone of the cave. Beside him, Tune landed on her neck, bending it back so horribly she yelped like a puppy. Bjorna lay unconscious near a rock, her cheek bleeding and her shoulder opened in a large gash.
“This time, pups, this time you’ll never get out. You’ll never see the light of the day again!” Armik snarled. Tune whimpered. There was the sound of scraping stone, and the light was shut out from them. Gaze’s head thumped to the floor and he sighed. Never again. He would never see the beautiful Beauran again. Never bask in the sun, play in the shade, run through the forest. He would never swim in the stream or hunt a rabbit. He had completely lost his whole life.
He slowly sat up and hung his head. He did not have any energy left to hold it up. He looked down at his paw and saw blood oozing from it, covering the white fur in red. He lifted it to his lips and licked it, relieving some of the pain.
When it was clean he glanced at Tune. She was licking Bjorna’s scarred shoulder, healing it, for she could not do it herself. She was completely unconscious, her chest rising and falling very slowly.
Gaze thought they should sleep. Rest. There was no energy left in their bodies anyway, there was no point in trying to find a way out at this moment. He let his paws slide out in front of him and relaxed his body. With his head on his paws, sleep finally grabbed him in its jaws.

* * *
Gaze suddenly awoke to a scraping sound. Before opening his eyes he pricked his ears in the direction. It kept scraping, and he lifted his head to see. Before him, the boulder was being slowly slid aside. Dust fell around him and he got up and backed behind a small boulder.
Light flooded in, and he watched Tune wake. She started, then jumped to her feet and went beside Gaze. Bjorna was still in a mild coma, but she was fine, hidden near some rocks.
As Gaze squinted into the light, he saw shadows come across the door. More wolves. He couldn’t see very clearly, but one by one, unconscious, weak or just wolves that had given up were thrown to the floor. Gaze counted eight of them. There were many groans and whines, before the door slid shut again, blocking out the light.
Eight? Gaze suddenly realised. If there were only ten of them here, one must be missing. But who was it? The wolves on the floor must be Beaurans, no doubt.
At once Gaze and Tune rushed forward to help. The floor was already damp with blood, and the air filled with it’s smell. What had happened out there? The first he reached was Sapphira, lying in a completely blacked-out sleep. He nudged her and she didn’t wake. She was breathing, and there were not many scars or wounds, so he called Tune over to help move her.
She ran up to them. At the sight of her mother, she yelped.
“Tune!” soothed Gaze. “It’s OK. We just need to move her out of the way.” She nodded, gulped, then bent down and gently grabbed Sapphira’s leg. Gaze got the scruff of her neck and they dragged her to an area in the shadows by some rocks. Gaze went back over and nudged Aldoro. He groaned and looked up at him.
“Gaze,” he murmured.
“Are you OK?” he asked him.
“Yeah, I’ll be alright. Help the others.” He struggled slowly to his feet and went over to lie by his wife, licking the blood off one of her paws. He continued over to another wolf. It was Gudinna. She was lying on her side, breathing fast. Gaze noticed a nasty gash in her thigh. When she felt his presence, she looked up.
“Gaze.” She said with a very weak smile. “I’ll be OK.” Gaze nodded and went over to Kulma. She lay with her head on her paws, staring into empty space. She was too weak. He was about to ask her if she needed help, but he decided not to. She was not in the right state.
For about an hour, Tune and Gaze helped those that needed it. The floor was stained red, but everyone had been moved from the middle and to a safe spot where they could relax. The two of them went over and lay by Bjorna who had only stirred once, before going back under.
“Who was the one missing?” Tune suddenly asked. Gaze turned to her.
“I don’t know.” He replied, thinking.
“We’ll go through them.” She said.
“OK, Scar and Kulma, Sapphira and Aldoro,” he counted.
“Arick, Dahlia and Cazadora,” she continued. Suddenly it hit him.
“Gudinna!” he yelped. “Gudinna hasn’t got Copaci!” Tune’s head shot up and met Gaze’s eyes.
“I bet I know why they’ve got him,” she said.
“He’s the Alpha!” Gaze groaned in reply. What had they done to him? Was he OK? He didn’t want to think. Poor Copaci. “What would we do?”
“I don’t know. We should wait. Maybe if he comes back, they’ll give us food as well?” she said hopefully. Gaze sighed.

* * *
It was many cold hours later before the door suddenly shook. Gaze and Tune lifted their heads and looked eagerly over at it. A few other wolves did too. Gudinna whined and shuffled a bit to see.
The door opened and light came in, but it was blocked a little by shadows. There was a moment of snarling and yelping before a guard stumbled in. In his jaws was Copaci staggering around. He was a big wolf, and it must have taken a lot of force.
The guard let go and Copaci collapsed to the floor. The guard snarled at the wolves around the walls, before going back out. Behind him, another wolf stuck his nose through and dropped a leg of stag on the floor. The door was slid shut and all eyes turned towards the heap of fur on the floor. Immediately Gaze, Tune and of course Gudinna walked up to him.
His breathing was in jerky breaths, and he was wheezing. Gaze glanced at his shoulder and ribs and saw them torn with blood oozing out. The rib gash was not too bad, but his shoulder was awful and very deep. Gudinna lay beside him, licking his gash.
“Copaci, it’ll be OK.” She said soothingly. But as he looked at her bright white face, tears slid from her beautiful eyes and onto her husband’s muzzle.
Gaze and Tune backed away and lay down, watching the two of them. Copaci’s breathing was still jerky and troubling. It wasn’t going too smoothly, but Gaze just let Gudinna care for him.
As Gaze was about to drift off, Gudinna suddenly yelped.
“Help! Somebody!” she cried. Tune rushed over and Gaze came after. “Help! He’s stopped breathing! Aldoro! Aldoro! Help!”
Without hesitation, Aldoro limped over and came to her side. “Gudinna?” he said urgently.
“He’s stopped breathing!” she leapt to her feet and nudged his side. “Aldoro?” she looked into his eyes, tears in her own. “What do I do?” she asked weakly.
Aldoro didn’t answer. His eyes were full of sorrow. He just stared at Copaci. Gudinna sobbed.
“Help me!” she yelped, still crying.
“I’m sorry Gudinna. There’s nothing I can do.” He sighed. “He’s gone.” He hung his head and Gudinna just stared at him. Her expression was full of many things. Longing, helplessness, sorrow and anger. She looked at her silent husband and burst back into tears.
“Copaci!” she sobbed. “Copaci! Come back!” she nudged his side, but he flopped back. Gaze shut his eyes tight and let Tune bury herself in his fur. All he could hear was Gudinna’s mourning.
And suddenly, from around the cave, the few wolves who were awake let out a slow howl. Low and sad. Gaze joined in, and Tune lifted her head up too.
Together they mourned the death of their glorious Alpha.

[Kodabomb]

Yippee!!! We have another chapter. I sincerely hope you enjoy it.
Did you think the previous chapter was sad? I thought so too. But it had to happen, otherwise it wouldn't be very exciting, would it?

Saviours

The pack did not sleep well that night. They had moved Copaci away from their view, to a corner. Gudinna continually wept and that was the only sound all night. Gaze had drifted in and out of sleep, with his head full of so many thoughts.
After a while he decided he could stand the sleeplessness no longer. He sat up and licked his paw of the dry blood, before getting up and walking in a circle to get his legs moving. He yawned widely and looked around at the others. Most were asleep, and he could see Gudinna had been crying just recently. Now she had a cried herself to sleep, exhausted and weak.
He looked around and noticed it was still night. Maybe just past midnight. But he could see a little with his wolf eyes. The cave tunnel stretched into dark, probably a dead end. Maybe there was a spring there or something.
Gaze got up and stretched his legs out, opening his mouth wide in another yawn. He then trotted off into the dark to find water. And after that he would take a bite of the deer meat everyone had forgotten about.
He plunged into the dark, listening his way around. Then there was a steady dripping sound to his right. He turned to it and smelled fresh rain water. It filled his nose and all he wanted to do was drink it all up.
He leant over the pool and splashed his face into it. He lapped up the water and it went down his throat, refreshing and cooling it. When he was quenched, he ran off in the direction he came.
When he reached the others, he searched for the venison. Very quickly he spotted it, covered in dust lying beside the door. He ran to it and immediately his mouth watered. He cave it a quick lick, before sinking his teeth into the succulent, juicy meat. It was a bit cold, not all fresh, but when you hadn’t eaten in what seemed like ages, cold meat is definitely the best.
He took a large mouthful, and was about to take another when he reconsidered. It was going to keep the others alive, one mouthful of meat. He gave it another lick, covering his tongue in cold blood, before trotting back to lie down.
When he was about to lay his head on his paws to get the rest of the night’s sleep, the door suddenly jerked. Dust fell onto his back and it jerked again. He heard grunts from outside and he leapt to his feet. As the door started to open, he patted Tune with his paw. She groaned and lifted her head, when her attention was drawn to the door.
It slid open, and shadows of wolves came across the door. Gaze shrunk down and Tune put her ears back.
But, instead of a rough guards voice, a familiar, happy voice sung out.
“Gaze! Tune!” cried Simbas. He bounded into the room. Behind him came Balliar, followed by Omega, Tuteur, Adrianna and Stalk. They smiled around at the ones who were awake, and some got up to greet them.
“How, how did you find us?” Gaze asked, bewildered.
“Well,” said Stalk in answer. “We hadn’t bumped into any of you, and we thought where you might be. Someone came up with the idea you could be in the Alpha’s cave, so we searched for it. When we found it, we decided to wait till night before going in.”
“And here we are!” said Tune with a weak laugh. Stalk smiled.
“Well, we better clear out. I think the guards will come out just before sunrise, and it won’t be easy getting the injured out.” Said Tuteur. Of course he knew what time guards get up.
“Um, Stalk?” said Aldoro suddenly from behind his boulder. “We have some bad news.” Stalk’s happy expression disappeared from his face immediately. Aldoro sighed very deeply.
“Copaci,” he said. “He’s, he’s dead.” He hung his head and Adrianna let out a tiny gasp. Tuteur widened his eyes in shock.
“I won’t ask what happened.” Stalk said sadly. He sighed before looking around. “We’ll handle everything. Don’t ask any questions, just follow me out. Do not stray from the pack, and make sure you keep quiet. If you’re injured, just go the best you can until we reach the depths of the forest.” He instructed. Everyone stood, and there was a bit of moaning.
When the pack gathered into their group of seventeen, Stalk counted them and whispered something to Omega and Tuteur. They went off into the cave, probably to carry Copaci’s body.
A moment later Stalk cleared out noiselessly. The pack followed behind, keeping as quiet as they could. Gaze trod lightly on his paws. They all filed out the door, head to tail, two by two. Stalk led them up the tunnel and towards the exit into the main cave.
They emerged into the dim of the chamber, and their footsteps lightly echoed. When they came to the other door, Stalk counted each wolf before going through. They came into the darkness of the entrance chamber, and Gaze found it smelled like blood from the previous day.
As he stepped onto the bear-skin, he felt it relieved his paws from the constant stress of the rock underfoot. He made the most of it as they neared the other door, which Gaze noticed was still blocked off.
“Pfft.” Said Tune. Aldoro and Cazadora approached it and leant their front paws upon the stone. It wasn’t a prison door, and with all their strength they pushed in over and it tumbled down the slope. Cazadora smiled, satisfied, and went back to the group to allow Stalk to lead the way.
Gaze just couldn’t believe their luck. They had come to save them, in the dead of the night. They would be free! They had even got Tune back.
But lost someone as well.
Gaze bounded down the slope, and finally his feet touched the soft, green grass. He missed the fresh air, the forest. He leapt around in circles, and so did Tune. He sniffed the piny air and, filling his lungs with the scent.
The forest was pretty, lit up by the bright moon in the now-clear sky. Stars shone down on them like eyes. The group crossed the grass patch and came to the other slope, covered in trees. They began the climb up, all seventeen of them.

* * *
After a long while, the pack found the track leading up the mountain. They were now back near the gardens, but no wolves were there at this time of night. It was now a lot safer to make noise, and there was definitely a lot of that at the moment, with all of them stumbling over each other trying to get up the hill.
They all stopped at the track and Stalk turned to count his pack. When he was satisfied, he led the way up, and everyone formed a single-file line. The track began to get very steep, and they marched through the trees.
It was a long way up the mountain. The moon lit their path, but it started to fade in about half an hour. Gaze looked behind him and saw the sun, peeping shyly over the mountaintop. They would have to get out soon, before wolves came out for breakfast. They suddenly picked up pace, hurrying to the top. Golden sunlight shone over them, with trees making shadows over their path. Gaze took it his free morning, because it seemed like ages since he had one. Even though he’d only been gone a little while. His heart filled with happiness as their scaled the hillside, and they were almost at the top.
A while later they finally reached it. The clearing in which they sat on the way. Exhausted and panting, the pack sat down to rest. As Gaze went and lay down with Tune, Bjorna, Balliar and Simbas, he felt his stomach rumble louder. He groaned. He was definitely hungry.
Just as he was about to ask if he could get something to eat, Aldoro approached them. “Hey, pups!” he said.
“Hey.” They all replied in answer.
“Are you guys hungry?” he asked.
“Oh my gosh yes!” said Tune. Aldoro laughed.
“Well, let’s go into the forest for a rabbit.” He replied, smiling. They all got up and followed him from the clearing into the trees.
The forest was rocky and steep, but the trees were close together and there were bushes here and there. They wandered through, searching for a little warren or something. And that’s when Aldoro stopped.
He pricked his ears and looked around. He then sniffed the ground, and found a small mound with plenty of rocky hidey-holes. “It’s a warren. Let’s surround it. Everyone find a hole.” Gaze smiled and started walking around the mound, looking out for a hole.
Immediately he sighted one, in a little crevice he stood in front of it.
“OK!” whispered Aldoro. He stuck his muzzle into his hole and started growling and snarling. He barked and dug at the dirt around it, trying to scare the rabbits out. Gaze listened and heard scuttling. It got louder and louder…
“Gaze!” barked Aldoro. Gaze braced himself, until out leapt a little rabbit. It tried to make a run for it, but Gaze pounced on top and delivered a death bite. It twitched and fell still. He picked it up and brought it to the others.
“Well done!” said Aldoro. “Now, Balliar, you have a turn at scaring them.” Balliar smiled and started digging and sniffing loudly. He barked down the hole excitedly, and his tail began to wag. Tune suddenly jumped up and wagged hers too, just a rabbit bounced from her hole stupidly.
He sprang after it, and trapped it in a little hole between some holes. With a snarl she silenced it, and brought it back to the others.
“Great!” exclaimed her father. “I think we’ll head back now.” Gaze snatched up his rabbit and so did Tune, and altogether they walked back to the clearing.
When they emerged, the sun shone brightly into their eyes. Gaze squinted and the five of them sat down in a group. Aldoro walked off to Sapphira and few others. Tune and Gaze dropped their kills.
“Finally, food!” said Bjorna gratefully. Bjorna smiled.
“We should divide them.” Said Simbas. “It won’t be too hard. They’re good-sized rabbits.” They all nodded and started to eat.

* * *
Gaze rolled onto his back, with his tummy finally full up. He yawned and sighed, so happy to be full again. Tune groaned happily beside him.
“Pack!” Cazadora suddenly barked to them. Gaze didn’t bother getting up, he just looked at her upside down. “We must leave now. It’s morning.” And she said something to her companions, who started the descent down the mountain. Gaze rolled over and trotted off after them, and the others came too. They caught up to the group and made their way down.
Through the trees, Gaze looked out beyond the Shadow lands. The mountains. The valleys. They were all so much more beautiful. The sun lit them up, and the fluffy clouds made shadows here and there. He looked over at the other side and saw the beautiful mountains of Beauran. Home.
He couldn’t wait to get back. He jiggled with excitement. And clearly the others couldn’t wait either. Up ahead, the whole group started to run down the narrow path, even with the sheer drop to the right. They bounded down on spring-loaded paws, happily running down. It was a little chilly on the bare mountain though.
Soon they were at the bottom. They walked ahead into the dark, evil forest. Even with his whole body full of excitement, Gaze couldn’t help feeling the nastiness of the whole place.
Soon the trees got so thick, it blocked out the golden morning sunshine. There was no mist this time, but Gaze kept tripped on roots and standing on thorns. One of his paws started bleeding, but it didn’t sting too much as he plodded on.
It was about half an hour when they finally started to see patches of sunlight on the forest floor. It was relieving, because they could at last see what they were doing. Through the trees, the mountains came into sight, and up ahead to the side, Gaze caught a glimpse of the hunting grounds.
Gaze felt the soft grass under his feet again. It massaged his sore paw, and the dew made it nice and wet, cleansing it. He breathed in the fresh air of the cool spring morning, and he felt he was finally free.
After a while they came to the mountains and Gaze could clearly see the grounds just a few paces away. They were in the patch they fed right before Tune went missing. He couldn’t help feeling happy.
Stalk once again turned to count the group, and he walked for a few paces to the tunnel. He then headed in. The group followed, and they plunged into the darkness. Gaze walked along next to the other pups, and it was just silence in the excitement.
There was light ahead, and it shone onto their faces. Gaze could see green at the other end from the grass and trees of the clearing. But he could hear something too. Voices. Wolves in the clearing.
In a moment they emerged from the tunnel. They were in Beauran at last.